User Comments - pearltowerpete

Posted on: Tea Tasting

Hi paulinurus,

I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you on that one.

昆虫 is the formal,"correct" word that means "insect."　虫子 is the generic word for the little creepy crawly things ranging from slugs to worms to beetles, etc. It corresponds much more closely to "bug."

Bug is not an exclusively American word. And I defy you to find anyone outside of a Victorian-era tea party who would scream

"Wa, an insect! There is an insect in my tea!"

Did you learn your English from "The Importance of Being Earnest?" ;-)

Hi sushan,

Yes, we could translate 泡妞 is to chase girls.　It is a little lighter in tone than the English, so I translated it in the vocab as "to cruise for chicks." The emphasis is more on looking cool and flirting than on the sleazier aspects of this activity.

By the way, 泡酒吧 is to go bar hopping.

Posted on: Xinjiang Delicacies

Hi sushan,

Well said. I will make the change.

The consistency of a really ripe hamigua is like ice cream. 哈密瓜口感非常好。

Posted on: Thinking of my Brothers by Moonlight -- 月夜忆舍兄

Hi thinkbuddha,

Thanks as always for the insightful comment.

Hi shenyajin,

At least our hometowns are at peace, unlike the poet's...

Hi bodawei,

Interesting experience with the essay. There are definitely free-thinkers of all degrees of intensity and radicalism here.

My own feeling is that mainland China might do well under a federated system. But that brings its own set of troubles. The last time China had that much local autonomy was the "Warlord Era" in the 1920s, and that didn't work very well at all. No easy answers here.

Hi fulankelin,

Thanks for commenting! I haven't read Friedman's latest books. In the words of Winston Churchill, "I read only for pleasure or for profit."

Friedman has (had) some very sharp and well-informed views on the Middle East-- I'm thinking of From Beruit to Jerusalem, for example. But like many other commentators (like his Times colleague David Brooks) he's fallen into the trap of idealizing Chinese society and government. The ability to build a nice shiny, maglev that will take you from Pudong airport to the nice, shiny skyscraper where you will meet with shiny, happy financiers is not a guarantee of a government's admirability.

Hi darylk,

Thanks for the kind words. I will carry out your request.

Posted on: Xinjiang Delicacies

You really skewered me, Calkins. When I quit this crazy scene, I'll invite you to my roast.

Posted on: Xinjiang Delicacies

Hi yangjianting

Food names are a little tricky to translate, as there are often variations within one country, and the food simply isn't eaten elsewhere.

Wenlin also translates the 哈密瓜 as the "Hami muskmelon." I have also seen it called "Hami honeydew." I have eaten cantaloupes that looked and tasted a lot like the Hamigua, and I thought that would be the clearest translation for English speakers. Does anyone really know what to expect a "muskmelon" to taste like? But I see how this could be confusing. For safety's sake, I should've included the Latin Cucumis melo var. saccharinus.

Hi kimiik

People often describe things that I'd call "gamey" as having 腥味. Mutton, venison, etc.

Leftover rice that has sat in the fridge for too long is said to have a 馊味 sou1 wei4. I am not really sure about 臊 but will look into this.

Tastes and smells are very contextual-- the best way to learn them in my experience is to experience them with chatty native speakers.

Posted on: Thinking of my Brothers by Moonlight -- 月夜忆舍兄

Hi xuchen and obitoddkenobi,

Thanks for your insightful comments. The late political scientist Lucian Pye commented that "China is a civilization pretending to be a nation-state." There is a certain amount of truth to that, I think.

And obitoddkenobi, thanks for pointing out the connection between geese and long-distance migration! The Chinese readings I checked didn't draw that connection, and it didn't really germinate in my own mind. But it's a very powerful natural image for the poet to use.

And I agree that Du Fu is an awesome name, xuchen. Maybe the only better name in literature is Euripedes. As in:

Euripedes pants one more time and you're not gonna be able to wear them anymore!

Posted on: Funny Rice

Hi kaohsiung,

你這個玩笑開得那么冷，你還嫌我們不好笑嗎？！ ；-）

順便說一下，在美國，麥當勞賣的蘋果基本上都是從中國進口的。

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 11: Wang in the Doghouse

Hi ewong,

Good question. 吝啬鬼 is a miser, someone who can't bear to spend money. The English word "mean" is more familiar as "nasty, impolite, cruel," but it used to mean "stingy, miserly." So we can't say that Lao Wang's wife is 吝啬 as this is the wrong meaning of "mean."

Instead, we could say that she's very 凶 (xiōng) fierce.

Hi pinkjeans,

Thanks for the interesting cultural background!

Posted on: 沙漠寻踪二

Hi tgif

目前核试验都是在地下搞的呀，对话里的探索者不太会被核武器气化吧 ;-)

Posted on: 易中天《读城记》

Hi jenny

错了个机会呀！ 当时没开始学诗词，现在多遗憾。